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A Sydney jury heard the Triple Zero call from Luke Davies's phone and testimony that Beau Lamarre-Condon asked a police investigator about the Lilie James murder a day before the alleged killings of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.
A jury has been played the Triple Zero (000) call made from Luke Davies's phone on the morning he and his boyfriend Jesse Baird were allegedly murdered by then-police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon.
Muffled audio of the short call was played twice to the jury on Friday. A male voice says f*** off almost immediately as the call connects. The lead investigator, Detective Sasha Pinazza, told the NSW Supreme Court there were two attempts to call the number back. Both were unsuccessful and went to voicemail.
Loved ones in the public gallery wiped their eyes with tissues after hearing the call and Mr Davies's voicemail message during the call backs. Lamarre-Condon, 31, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. He is facing a three-month trial in the NSW Supreme Court. He is accused of shooting the couple with his police service weapon in Baird's Paddington terrace in Sydney's east on 19 February 2024.
Crown Alleges Jealous Infatuation
The Crown alleges Lamarre-Condon developed a jealous infatuation with Baird and stalked him in the lead up to the killings. In an opening address last week, Crown Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the jury it was the prosecution case that Mr Davies called 000. The Crown alleges Mr Baird was shot twice in the kitchen. Mr Davies was then allegedly shot through a bedroom door as he tried to call for help.
The prosecution says Mr Davies was killed because he was a witness to the alleged murder of Mr Baird. Lamarre-Condon's lawyers have raised an argument of self defence. They have suggested it was their client who tried to call 000. Defence counsel John Stratton SC has indicated it is Lamarre-Condon's case that there were two separate struggles involving his police pistol that morning.
The defence says the first struggle was with Mr Baird, and that Lamarre-Condon used a mobile phone to make the call before encountering Mr Davies. Stratton said during his opening statement that Baird and Davies were fatally shot in self defence after struggles with the policeman. The court also heard evidence about a conversation Lamarre-Condon had with a fellow officer the day before the killings.
Condon Discusses Killer With Colleague
Police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon asked a colleague, a day before he allegedly murdered Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, if a high-profile killer would have gotten away with it if he had not taken his own life. The officer, Higginson, from a police force criminal investigation team in Sydney, told the supreme court trial on Friday about working with Lamarre-Condon the day before Baird and Davies were killed.
The two police officers had been working at a pro-Palestine protest on 18 February 2024 when Lamarre-Condon asked Higginson about work. Higginson became emotional when discussing the case with Lamarre-Condon, noting the crime had occurred at his old school, so it hit home a bit more, the court was told. The case discussed was the murder of Lilie James, 21.
She was a water polo coach at St Andrew's Cathedral school who was killed by Paul Thijssen in October 2023, days after the pair broke up. CCTV captured Thijssen following James into the school's gymnasium with a hammer before her body was found. He later killed himself at the Vaucluse cliffs. He thought Paul was stupid for doing it on CCTV, the police investigator said.
Thijssen Suicide Questioned By Police
Higginson told the court that Lamarre-Condon then asked if Thijssen had not committed suicide, would he have gotten away with it. Higginson brought up the 2007 death of Matthew Leveson. He told Lamarre-Condon he could remember the CCTV of a partner at Bunnings buying a tarp, and he ended up burying him in the national park.
Both police officers then spoke about how cash was more difficult to trace than bank cards and what avenues detectives look at for suspicious deaths, the court heard. When Lamarre-Condon asked about phones, Higginson said he responded: If you were to leave your phone at home and commit a murder, the phone would be showing up in the vicinity of your residence. Higginson said the two were not close, but they would chat at work.
He recalled Lamarre-Condon would tell him about his side-hustles. The trial continues.
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abcnews:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Jesse Baird And Luke Davies Triple Zero Call Lilie James Murder NSW Supreme Court
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